Wild Rice & Chicken Soup
This soup is sooo cozy and nourishing. It is full of veggies and has so much flavor. I remember when I first tried Panera wild rice and chicken soup years ago and absolutely loved it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Panera, and I don’t know why I was so intimidated to try and make this! It turned out delicious and it’s even better than I remember it years ago.
As I’m typing this it’s the week between Christmas and New Years… does anyone else never know what to do with this awkward down time?! It’s super snowy and it just makes me want to stay inside and nap all day. Cue easy soup recipes like this.
Carrots, celery, onion, garlic - I feel like these are just the classic veggies for soup and you can’t go wrong with them (& obviously you have to add garlic).
Fresh parsley and thyme - Mmm these herbs add the best flavor to this soup, but they aren’t overpowering.
Wild rice - I wouldn’t stray from wild rice for this recipe. The kind I used (linked here) needs to be cooked for 45 minutes. I would suggest purchasing one with a similar cooking time for this recipe. You don’t want one that cooks in a short amount of time, but leaves the veggies raw, or vice versa - you don’t want mushy rice.
Vegetable broth + water - You could also use chicken broth for this recipe if you want. I like the flavor of the vegetable broth and the addition of water to make it more liquid after the rice is cooked.
Shredded chicken - y’all… take the easy route. I bought a rotisserie chicken to keep this super simple. Shred it up and you can use it for other recipes throughout the week as well.
Coconut cream - You could also use half and half but I love coconut cream with this soup! Trust me it doesn’t have a coconut taste, it’s more of the creamy texture I enjoy.
Wild Rice & Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots
- 4 celery stalks
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 5 tbsp. butter
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice (rinsed)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 5.4 oz can coconut cream
- 1 cup shredded chicken (cooked)
Instructions
- Wash carrots and celery. Peel carrots. Slice carrots and celery into small pieces. Finely dice onion and mince garlic. Roughly chop parsley.
- Add butter to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Let melt and add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, and a dash of salt and pepper. Let sautè stirring occasionally for 10 min.
- Add in wild rice, broth, and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium low, place lid on and let simmer for 45 minutes.
- Once rice is cooked through, stir in coconut cream and shredded chicken and let simmer 2-3 more minutes.